Dr. Ashoke Sen

First Published: December 23, 2014 | Last Updated:December 23, 2014

In 2012, India’s Dr. Ashoke Sen (Born 1956) became a millionaire overnight when he won the $3m (£1.9m) Fundamental Physics Prize, the world’s most lucrative academic award. He is a shy, reclusive Indian particle physicist working from a non-descript laboratory in the Harish-Chandra Research Institute in the not-so-happening town of Allahabad in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. (BBC News)

About Fundamental Physics Prize

Fundamental Physics Prize was set up by the Russian internet entrepreneur, Yuri Milner. It is sometimes called Russian Nobel Prize. The prize money is three times of Nobel Prize in Physics.

About String Theory

String Theory is an esoteric branch of physics. It is a complex mathematical theory that hopes to explain almost everything we know about the matter and energy in the universe. The string theory as being based “on the idea that the elementary constituents of matter are not point particles, but one dimensional objects or strings. This theory automatically combines quantum mechanics, and general relativity – Einstein’s theory of gravity. It also has the potential for explaining the other known forces of nature – strong, weak and electromagnetic forces”. The mathematical theory itself still cannot be proved or disproved since atom smashers like those at CERN in Geneva have still not attained the enormous energies needed to test the string theory.